It's February, the month a gardener's thoughts turn to…seeds and seed catalogs. Host Glen Andresen and guest Jim Gilbert talk seeds, seed starting, and planting bareroot trees. It's too early to plant most seeds and transplant seedlings, but time to get started on planning.

As always, we'll answer your gardening questions, have a new Plant of the Month (peas), a new Garden Stumper, and what's going on in the honey bee hive this month.

It's cold, damp, and January. Plants are dormant. That means it's pruning time for many fruits. Host Glen Andresen and guest Jim Gilbert will discuss the whens and hows of dormant pruning of grapes, kiwis, cane berries, fruit trees, and whatever else. Plus, can we dig around in the soil now? We know.

As always, we'll answer your gardening questions, have a new Plant of the Month (flowering quince), a new Garden Stumper, and what's going on in the honey bee hive this month.

It's the 3rd annual beekeeping edition on The Dirtbag! And why not, as December is an excellent time for edible gardeners to think about, plan for, then order seeds or fruiting plants for the garden…and this year, we urge you to consider the idea of planting a little something for the honey bees, too. Host--and beekeeper--Glen Andresen welcomes representatives of two area beekeeping associations, Tim Wessels from Portland Urban Beekeepers and Tom Chester from Portland Metro Beekeepers. Both will talk about getting started in beekeeping and events that each association is offering during the upcoming year. And even if you don't take up beekeeping, you can always help out by planting tasty pollen and nectar plants for honey bees.

Host Glen Andresen and guest Jim Gilbert try to convice you that the upcoming Home Orchard Society All About Fruit Show is THEE fruit tasting event in the Pac NW, if not North America! Plus Jim will bring us up to speed on his latest fruit-finding trip--this time to Korea for persimmons. And, since this is the month, tips on planting easy-to-grow garlic.

As always, we'll answer your gardening questions, have a new Plant of the Month--call us with your favorite variety of apple, have a new Garden Stumper (sorry, no tickets this month), and let you know what's going on in the honey bee hive this month.

Host Glen Andresen welcomes back John Saltveit, master grafter of fruit trees and major garden experimenter, as you will see! We'll also discuss food fermentation and eating weeds.

As always, we'll answer your gardening questions, have a new Plant of the Month (edible weeds--we know, rather unusual...), a new Garden Stumper (with the winners getting tickets to the September film at the Portland EcoFilm Festival at the Hollywood Theater!), and what's going on in the honey bee hive this month.

It's August, and that means some pears are ready to be picked. Do you know what type of pears you have? Host Glen Andresen and guest Jim Gilbert talk pears: types, varieties, harvesting, storage and ripening.

As always, we'll answer your gardening questions, have a new Plant of the Month (moss--we know, rather unusual...), a new Garden Stumper (with the winners getting tickets to the August film at the Portland EcoFilm Festival at the Hollywood Theater!), and what's going on in the honey bee hive this month.

July and August are the ideal months to build fruit trees using the bud grafting method; tune in to hear host Glen Andresen and guest Jim Gilbert discuss this method. Plus, a discussion about when and how to pick fruits and veggies at their peak.

As always, we'll answer your gardening questions, have a new Plant of the Month (cherries), a new Garden Stumper (with the winners getting tickets to the July film at the Portland EcoFilm Festival at the Hollywood Theater!), and what's going on in the honey bee hive this month.

Host Glen Andresen and guest Jim Gilbert talk about which veggies to start now for fall and winter harvest. And those veggies are this month's Plant of the month.

As always, we'll answer your gardening questions; a new Garden Stumper (with the winners getting tickets to the June film at the Portland EcoFilm Festival at the Hollywood Theater!); and what's going on in the honey bee hive this month.

Audio

You've got to admit that there is not much going on in the garden this month -- which makes it a perfect time to make December's Dirtbag a beekeeping edition! Host Glen Andresen welcomes four guests (Jim is off this month so he can meet with the governor) for the full hour to talk bees: Carolyn Breece, research assistant at the OSU Bee Lab, will outline the Oregon Master Beekeeper program; Tim Wessels, president of Portland Urban Beekeepers, will talk about starting out and keeping bees in the city; author Rosanna Mattingly will discuss her new book Honey-Maker: How the Honey Bee Worker Does What She Does...and answer ANY of your bee questions; and Nick Erickson, owner of Creative Landscapes, will handle this month's Plant of the Month with suggestions of excellent bee plants for your front, side and back yards.

And, as usual, there will be a new Garden Stumper quiz and, this month, answers to your beekeeping questions.

Host Glen Andresen and guest Jim Gilbert welcome (back) Steven Cohen, who manages food policy and programs for the city of Portland's Bureau of Planning and Sustainability. He will talk about the recently updated city code that deals with farming and food distribution within Portland city limits. If you have questions about what and where you can grow things (like in the parking strip), and how many (like chickens), give a listen and then call in.

Our Plant (or plants, this time) of the Month are gooseberries and currants.

And, as usual, there will be a new Garden Stumper quiz, what's going on in the honey bee hive this month, and answers to your garden questions.

t's May, and that means it's prime planting time. Host Glen Andresen and guest Jim Gilbert tackle the topic of planting and growing vegetables vertically. Plant of the Month is cucumbers. And in the What's Happening in the Honey Bee Hive this month, the topic is swarming!

As usual, there will be a new Garden Stumper quiz and answers to your garden questions.

It's time for grafting fruit trees, and veteran fruit tree grafter Jerry Shroyer with the Home Orchard Society will join host Glen Andresen and guest Jim Gilbert to talk about the big Fruit Propagation Fair that is scheduled to take place this Saturday, March 17 at the Clackamas County Fairgrounds in Canby.

Plus, a discussion of how easy it is to start composting your yard debris and kitchen veggie and fruit trimmings.

As always, there will be 1) a new Garden Stumper quiz; 2) a new Plant of the Month: PEAS; 3) What's going on in the honey bee hive this month, and 4) answers to your gardening and composting questions.

Host Glen Andresen and guest Jim Gilbert tackle another timely topic: dormant pruning. If your fruit trees are about the size you want them, now is NOT the time to prune--that would be mid-summer. But if your fruit trees are too big, need some shaping help, or tend to overbear one year and not the next, then tune in for some practical advice on pruning. Plus a discussion of new and exciting fruit and veggie varieties, garden catalogs, and upcoming gardening events and classes.

As always, there will be a new Garden Stumper quiz; a new Plant of the Month: cabbage; What's going on in the honey bee hive this month, and answers to your gardening questions.

As always, there will be 1) a new Garden Stumper quiz, 2) a new Plant of the Month: medlar, 3) what's going on in the honey bee hive this month, and 4) answers to your gardening questions (or at least an attempt).

As always, there will be 1) a new Garden Stumper quiz, 2) a new Plant of the Month: medlar, 3) what's going on in the honey bee hive this month, and 4) answers to your gardening questions (or at least an attempt).

Host Glen Andresen is joined by Jim Gilbert to talk about fall-bearing fruits such as persimmons, jujubes, and pineapple guava. Also, a plea to not let those leaves go to waste--a discussion of ways gardeners can use those free leaves in the garden. Plus, a new segment: "What's happening in the hive this month?"--a look at the goings-on inside and out of a honey bee hive this time of year.

And, as always, a new Garden Stumper quiz, Plant of the Month (persimmons), and answers to your gardening questions.

Comments

QUESTION: What apple varieties get pollinated by Gravenstein apple trees?

ANSWER: None! Gravenstein's are triploid, meaning they have three sets of chromosomes. If you want to get apples on your gravenstein tree, you will need to have another apple variety within bee range. And here's the tricky part, if you want to get apples on the second tree, your will need a THIRD apple variety within bee range to pollinate it!